Steam News

Half-Life's Dr. Gordon Freeman Wins Gamespot's "All Time Greatest Game Hero" Contest

October 16, 2009, 1:39 pm - Valve - Press Release

To celebrate Gamespot's "All Time Greatest Game Hero" award to Half-Life's Dr. Gordon Freeman we are offering all Half-Life games at 55.8% off!

There are other great game heroes, and we're gonna let you play with them, but Gordon Freeman is THE BEST GAME HERO OF ALL TIME at least according to 55.8% of the gaming public - thank you to all who voted.

STEAM WEEKEND DEAL - 66% Off Everything Half-Life and 10% Off The Valve Complete Pack

August 13, 2009, 6:45 pm - Valve

This weekend only! Save 66% on everything Half-Life. Or get the Valve Complete Pack for 10% off.


The Valve Complete Pack
Half-Life Complete Pack
Half-Life 1 Anthology (Pack)
Half-Life 2 Complete Pack
Half-Life Episode Pack

Half-Life
Half-Life: Opposing Force
Half-Life: Blue Shift
Half-Life: Source
Half-Life Deathmatch: Source
Half-Life 2
Half-Life 2: Episode One
Half-Life 2: Episode Two
Half-Life 2: Lost Coast
Half-Life 2: Deathmatch

Episode 1 Source Engine Update Released (7/9/2008)

July 9, 2008, 4:39 pm - Valve - Product Update

Updates to the Episode 1 Source Engine have been released. The updates will be applied automatically when your Steam client is restarted. The specific changes include:

Episode 1 Source Engine

• Counter-Strike: Source, Half-Life 2: Episode 1, and Half-Life 2: Deathmatch customers running under Windows Vista can now take advantage of 5.1 and 7.1 speaker configurations
  

PC Games From The Orange Box Flying Solo Into Retail April 9 and 11

March 13, 2008, 1:02 pm - Valve - Press Release

March 13, 2008 - Valve, creators of Half-Life® 2 and Counter-Strike®, today announce the retail launch dates for the stand-alone, PC versions of Team Fortress® 2, PortalTM, and the Half-Life 2: Episode Pack are April 9th in North America and April 11th around the globe.

Portal - the unique single player game that mixes puzzle, adventure and first-person action - is expected to retail for approximately $19.99. Portal has been named Game of the Year by over 30 publications worldwide and earned 40 more awards for special achievements in game design, writing, and music ("Still Alive" by GLaDOS and Jonathon Coulton).

Team Fortress 2 (TF2), the sequel to the game that put team-based, multiplayer gaming on the map, is expected to retail for approximately $29.99. TF2 has been named Multiplayer Game of the Year by Gamespy.com, PC Gamer magazine, and other leading media outlets. This retail version, like all PC versions of TF2, includes the recently released Badlands map and the ability to receive auto updates via Steam® including the upcoming release of Goldrush, a new gameplay mode and map that combines the escort style gameplay of Hunted with the timed attack and defend gameplay of Dustbowl.

The Half-Life 2 Episode Pack - which includes both of the award winning new episodes for the highest rated and best selling first-person action franchise of all time, plus Half-Life 2 Deathmatch for online play - is expected to retail for just $29.99. As was the case with The Orange Box, customers who already own one of these titles will have the ability to conveniently "gift" the game via Steam to a friend.

"Given the unique nature and length of the games inside The Orange Box, the compilation approach was the right vehicle for the debut of these titles at retail," said Doug Lombardi, vice president of marketing at Valve. "With the flexibility of having different pricing and packaging options via Steam, we were able to test the market viability of the individual products. The results show an overwhelming demand for these stand-alone offerings as well as The Orange Box. This gives us tremendous confidence as we bring gamers more ways to get these titles at retail."

All three packages include support for Steamworks achievements, automatic updates and more, and do not require Half-Life 2 to play.

Source Engine Update Released

November 12, 2007, 4:36 pm - Valve - Product Update

Updates to the Source Engine have been released. The updates will be applied automatically when your Steam client is restarted. The specific changes include:

Source Engine

• Fixed Half-Life 2: Deathmatch crowbar swing speed difference between Windows and Linux servers
  
• Fixed a potential hang bug in the server browser
  
• Fixed certain filenames not protected by sv_pure
  
• Fixed CSoundEnt spam on the server with high numbers of player slots on a server
  
• Fixed Half-Life 2: Deathmatch chat bug on Linux servers
  
• Minor optimization to the askconnect panel
  
• Fixed IP address column reporting IPs backwards
  
• Security fix for file transfers as reported by James Gray
  
• Fixed players able to make their name disappear in the scoreboard by setting it to "~~ ~" in the options panels

Valve Uncrates The Orange Box

October 10, 2007, 12:00 am - Valve - Product Release

Valve is pleased to announce the official 'uncrating' of The Orange Box, now available on Steam.

The Orange Box features three top-rated new games by Valve: Half-Life® 2: Episode Two, the second installment in the Half-Life 2 episodic trilogy; Team Fortress® 2, the sequel to the game that put class-based, multiplayer team warfare on the map; and Portal, the game that blends puzzles, first person action, and adventure gaming to produce an experience like no other.

To bring gamers up to date with the Half-Life 2 universe, The Orange Box also includes Half-Life 2, the best-selling and highest-rated action game series of all time, and the episodic debut Half-Life® 2: Episode One—together, more than 30 hours of award-winning gameplay. Purchasers of the PC version of The Orange Box who already own Half-Life 2 and Half-Life 2: Episode One can conveniently “gift” them to a friend from within Steam.

All games included in The Orange Box are available separately or as part of two exclusive Steam collections: The Source Premier Pack and The Valve Complete Pack.

Source Engine Update Released

September 12, 2007, 1:10 pm - Valve - Product Update

Updates to the Source Engine have been released. The updates will be applied automatically when your Steam client is restarted. The specific changes include:

Source Engine

• Fixed custom level sound lists under sv_pure
  
• Fixed occasional scrunched-up columns in the serverbrowser
  
• Fixed various memory leaks

Pre-Purchase The Orange Box, Play Team Fortress 2 Next Week

September 6, 2007, 8:24 am - Valve - General Announcement

The Orange Box—featuring Half-Life 2: Episode Two, Team Fortress 2, and Portal, as well as the complete Half-Life 2 experience to date—is now available for pre-purchase via Steam. Pre-purchase The Orange Box before the October 10 release to save 10% off the regular price and get exclusive access to the Team Fortress 2 beta on September 17.

The Orange Box, penned by IGN.com as "the package which could legitimately be called the deal of the century," features three highly-awaited new games by Valve: Half-Life 2: Episode Two, the second installment in the Half-Life 2 episodic trilogy; Team Fortress 2, the sequel to the game that put class-based, multiplayer team warfare on the map; and Portal, the game that blends puzzles, first person action, and adventure gaming to produce an experience like no other.

To bring gamers up to date with the Half-Life 2 universe, The Orange Box also includes Half-Life 2, the best-selling and highest-rated action game series of all time, and the episodic debut Half-Life 2: Episode One. Customers who already own these titles will have the ability to conveniently "gift" them to a friend upon official release of The Orange Box.

Starting Monday, September 17, those who pre-purchase The Orange Box via Steam can download and activate the beta release of Team Fortress 2 (TF2). This year's most anticipated online action game, TF2 delivers new game types, a signature art style powered by Valve's next generation animation technology, persistent player statistics, and more.

As a special bonus, those who pre-purchase The Orange Box via Steam will also receive a copy of Peggle Extreme. PopCap and Valve have teamed up to create a special edition of the game cited by MSNBC as one of the “Top 5 Most Addicting Games of All Time.” This first ever collaboration is themed around content from Half-Life 2: Episode Two, Team Fortress 2 and Portal which will positively result in Extreme Fever.

Half-Life 2: Deathmatch Update Released

June 15, 2007, 5:58 pm - Valve - Product Update

Updates to Half-Life 2: Deathmatch have been released. The updates will be applied automatically when your Steam client is restarted. The specific changes include:

Half-Life 2: Deathmatch

• Fixed in-game chat

Source Engine Update Released

June 14, 2007, 3:20 pm - Valve - Product Update

Updates to the Source Engine have been released. The updates will be applied automatically when your Steam client is restarted. The specific changes include:

Source Engine

• Fixed a client crash
  
• Fixed sv_allow_wait_commands restricting the server using wait
  
• Fixed a crash in "soundlist" command
  
• Reallowed fps_max value of 0, which means unrestricted fps
  
• Fixed a crash playing back demo files recorded with the previously-released engine
  
• Client forwards server commands it doesn't understand back to the server
  
• sv_pure 1 now allows custom spray decals by default